Chapter 156: Journey to the Spirit Realm
The night in the sprawling, oppressive halls of the Necrotis House offered Vahn no solace. He had retired to his luxurious quarters, but the plush silks and opulent furnishings felt cold beneath the weight of cosmic destiny. The urgency was palpable: not just the safety of his wives, but the ticking clock of the Void Dragon God Seed threatening to usurp his very soul.
He lay awake, wrestling with the implications of the slavery seals on Seraphina and Lilith, and his father's vow to protect them.
Hssssss...
A sound, faint and chillingly precise, sliced through the high-grade shielding formations of his chamber. It was the whisper of death: the unique sound signature of a Heavenly Grade Poison Needle cutting through the ambient spiritual energy, aimed with lethal accuracy at the core of Vahn's brain, where the Void Dragon Seed resided.
Vahn's instincts, honed by countless brushes with death, flared instantly. He didn't have time to analyze the threat; he simply launched himself off the bed, but the needle was impossibly fast, fueled by advanced demonic arts.
However—
CLANK!
A figure moved with blinding speed, faster than the poison needle could travel its final inch. Vaylin materialized from the shadows near the doorway, catching the needle between two fingers. She was already dressed in her sleek black combat gear, proving she had anticipated trouble. She examined the needle, its tip glowing with lethal, corrosive toxins, and a look of cold contempt settled on her face.
"Such crude methods," Vaylin sneered, crushing the needle into dust with minimal effort. "Did you truly think I would let my little brother sleep alone on his first night back in a house full of vipers?"
Three cloaked figures, their forms shrouded in low-grade, familiar demonic energy, flickered in the room's corners, ready to launch a secondary wave of attack. Vahn's Eye of Heavenly Dao immediately activated, piercing their magical shrouds. He recognized one of the energy signatures. It faintly belonged to a half-sibling he met earlier, twisted and amplified by dark cultivation.
"Who sent you, and what is your purpose?" Vahn demanded, his voice dangerously low, his newly achieved Soul Transformation power surging to meet the intruders.
"They won't talk," Vaylin dismissed, her eyes glowing deep black as she recognized the signs of mind control. "They're just disposable cannon fodder, programmed to self-destruct if captured. The power behind them is far more ancient and far more interesting."
Vaylin didn't waste energy on them. She simply snapped her fingers. The air around the three assassins compressed and inverted violently, reducing them to fine dust with shocking, silent brutality.
Vaylin turned back to Vahn, her face now completely grim, the earlier playful smirk gone.
"This confirms it. This wasn't just simple internal jealousy from our spiteful half-siblings, little brother. This is the work of the Void Dragon God's Cult."
"The Cult?" Vahn questioned, the fear of his primal ancestor overriding his anger at the assassination attempt. "Why are they targeting me here? They should be celebrating my return."
"They are celebrating, in their own way," Vaylin explained, her voice dropping. "They know you're the key to bringing back their master, the Void Dragon God. Listen, Vahn, the majority of the Nether Realm knows the grim truth: the Void Dragon God was an absolute, consuming monster—pure evil. He devoured worlds, consumed spiritual stars, and even ate his own offspring and kins to grow exponentially stronger."
Vahn's body went cold. The familial warmth he was starting to feel was instantly replaced by the terrifying realization of the monster he carried within.
"That's why the Necrotis Clan, along with powerful allies like the Spirit Monarch, eventually subjected him to a massive Betrayal of the Nine Dragons and ultimately slain him, trapping his residual essence."
"And now," Vaylin continued, walking toward Vahn and placing a serious hand on his shoulder, "this cult, full of twisted zealots, plans to use the maturation of the Seed in your core to resurrect him. They believe bringing that chaos creature back will grant them unimaginable power, bringing calamity back to the Universe for their own selfish gains. They want the chaos."
Vahn's resolve was instantly solidified. He had to eliminate the Seed, not just for his own survival, but for the survival of two different worlds.
"Their plan will fail," Vaylin declared, her expression shifting to one of determined confidence. "Tomorrow, Father and Mother will take you to the Spirit Realm where we will meet the Spirit Monarch, the only person capable of safely locating and destroying the ancient scourge from your soul."
Vahn didn't get any more rest. He spent the remaining hours strategizing with Vaylin, detailing the structure of his dynasty and his wives' abilities, preparing his final contingency plan should the worst happen.
At the first signs of cosmic dawn in the Nether Realm, Vahn met his parents in the Grand Courtyard. There was no formal fanfare, only efficiency and immense power.
"We are leaving now, Vahn," Velzard announced to his chief commanders,
"The Necrotis House and its resources are under the management of the Clan Elders until our return. Any further internal strife will be met with immediate and absolute execution."
Vahn saw fear on the faces of his half-siblings, but no one dared challenge the Dragon Lord. Velzard was a powerhouse of Paragon Rank—the peak cultivation level of the known cosmos. To cross him was instant oblivion. The presence of the Saintess Of Celestial Light, Luminaire, providing radiant backup, doubled the intimidation.
Velzard then initiated the journey. He did not use portals or gates; he simply used his overwhelming power to slice reality itself. With a thunderous sound, he created a massive, shimmering, silver-tinged spatial portal that was far more stable and controlled than Vahn's frantic jumps.
"Get in, son," Velzard commanded, his voice softening slightly as he looked at Vahn. "This will take us to the Spirit Realm. Your mother will stabilize the path."
Vahn and his parents stepped through.
The journey was a masterclass in cosmic traversal. Velzard held the dimensional pathway open, using his Paragon-level strength to force spatial layers to bend and connect, bypassing light years of distance in hours. Luminaire, using her Celestial Light affinity, provided the essential stabilizing energy to ensure the pathway didn't collapse or expose Vahn to harmful dimensional winds.
Vahn watched in silent awe, realizing the gulf between the most powerful cultivators of Dalu and the true cosmic hierarchy. This journey, which took him a month of constant effort with Vaylin, was reduced to a matter of mere days under the guidance of his mother and father.
Finally, they stepped out of the dimensional fold. The air was radically different: light, crystalline, and vibrating with pure, vital Spiritual Essence. Above them, the sky was a breathtaking canvas of rotating galaxies and nebula-like light formations.
This was the Spirit Realm, a nexus of pure creation, and the home of the Spirit Monarch—Vahn's only hope.
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